SIX has acquired Nordic clearing system vendor Baymarkets, planning to expand its European post-trade solutions with a derivatives clearing platform.
Equity derivatives in Europe can currently be cleared by a number of central counterparties, including Eurex Clearing, Euronext Clearing and Cboe Clear.
Currently, the exchange group develops its clearing solutions in-house. José Manuel Ortiz, head of clearing and repo operations at SIX, told Global Trading, “The acquisition of Baymarkets will enable SIX to utilise their expertise to support the group in developing a leading pan-European clearing offering.”
Baymarkets supports clearing in both exchange-traded and over-the-counter markets, covering multiple currencies and asset classes. In 2016, the company took over the support, maintenance and development of SIX x-clear’s Clara clearing system. Members of the SIX team managing the system moved to Baymarkets.
Ortiz commented, “[The] legacy Clara system was sunset in 2022, but since then the collaboration has continued supporting other projects. By bringing Baymarkets into the group, SIX can leverage the firm’s deep experience with SIX architecture.”
Singaporean commodities exchange and clearing house Abaxx adopted Baymarkets’ Clara clearing platform in 2024. PwC Switzerland partnered with the company in 2020 for the delivery of global post-trade and clearing solutions.
The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
